“Yeah, I fixed it but didn’t put it up, so I didn’t mark it off,” Arthur answered, driving through the gate. There were cameras everywhere across their property. Like everything else, most were reclaimed by Arthur. The main reason for most cameras was to let them know if wildlife was on the property. Arthur was certain the raccoons were regrouping for a major counterattack any day.
There were cameras around the house, but they were to see if deer were eating the flower beds. The barns had cameras to watch for dreaded coons and opossums. All the greenhouses and gardens had cameras just because there were beehives inside them now and the bears really liked the honeybees. The only cameras that could be considered security cameras were the ones on Arthur’s shop, the gate, and the root cellar that was behind the barn, buried into the rise.
Those had been added because of Rudy.
Glancing at the backseat, “How much luggage is Alicia bringing?” Arthur asked.
“I don’t know,” Wendy shrugged as Arthur honked the horn, waving at Jack and Starlie as they passed in front of their house. “Wonder where they are going?” Wendy asked, seeing Jack and Starlie climbing in Jack’s truck.
“You know they shop at the end of the month,” Arthur said, weaving around a deep pothole. “You see? They took his truck.”
“I ride in your truck to town all the time,” Wendy popped off and Arthur just glanced at her, grinning. “You going to shop since you’re going to be in Little Rock?”
“Not in your car,” Arthur chortled.
Rolling her eyes, “I should’ve known. You wanted to take your truck so you could’ve gone to the dump,” Wendy groaned.
“Landfill,” Arthur corrected. “Don’t see what the problem is, we go to garage sales all the time. What people don’t sell at their garage sales ends up in the landfill. I just skip paying them for it.”
Reaching over and patting Arthur’s leg, “Next time we go to the big city, you can go to the dump,” Wendy snickered.
“I’m changing your ticket to one way,” Arthur sighed.
“I don’t care, I have credit cards and know my address,” Wendy said, leaving her hand on Arthur’s leg. Glancing out as they passed a small house, Wendy waved at a young couple on the porch, holding a small baby. “Make sure you take Joseph down to Tammy and Ted’s,” Wendy sighed, waving and saw both wave back. “Little Nicole is so precious.”
Letting his right hand drop off the steering wheel, Arthur held her hand as he drove down the valley. Arthur smiled at the tiny bundle in Tammy’s arms as they passed. “I offered to babysit,” Arthur mumbled.
“Please,” Wendy chuckled as Arthur turned at the Y at the end of the valley. “They are new parents and won’t let that baby out of their sight until she’s two.” Ten miles later, they reached the small paved county road. Hearing a ring and buzz, Wendy pulled her hand from Arthur’s lap and grabbed her cellphone.
Before looking at the screen, they both said, “It’s Alicia.”
“Hey, Alicia,” Wendy answered the phone, never even looking at the screen.
“Are you on the way?” Arthur heard Alicia moan.
“Yes, we should be at your house in a few minutes,” Wendy laughed.
“Okay, I’ll be outside,” Alicia cheered and then hung up.
Tapping her screen, “I hope Alicia finds herself a new husband soon,” Wendy said, setting her phone down.
“As much as that woman bitches, she won’t keep him for long,” Arthur pointed out and Wendy reached over, popping his arm.
“She’s not that bad,” Wendy snapped and reached down to hold Arthur’s hand again.
“Oh yeah,” Arthur said. “There are four other women going from church, but we were the only ones stupid enough to agree to take Alicia.”
“Okay, I’ll go so far as to say Alicia can be annoying at times and she may not have a husband now, but she divorces nicely,” Wendy chuckled.
Nodding with wide eyes, “If I ever had to pay that much in alimony, you would disappear, I’m just saying,” Arthur said.
“Not able to argue against that,” Wendy agreed.
Twenty minutes later, Arthur pulled up to a nice house and saw Alicia standing in her driveway next to three suitcases. In her late thirties, Alicia was a hefty woman with short brown hair. “Only three? I’m shocked,” Arthur said, putting the car in park.
Opening the trunk as he climbed out, Arthur watched Alicia run around the car and jump in behind Wendy. “Sure, I’ll get your suitcases,” Arthur said as Alicia shut the door.
Only able to get two in the trunk, Arthur opened the back door putting the last one in the backseat and heard Alicia talking nine hundred miles an hour. “Oh, we are so listening to rock and roll when we hit the interstate,” he mumbled, closing the door.
Climbing back in, Arthur tried to block Alicia’s voice, but he figured he would have better luck turning lead into gold. “What do you think about that flu they are reporting in China?” Alicia asked, buckling up as Arthur started the car.
“All I’ve heard on the internet is it was a bird flu,” Wendy answered as Arthur pulled out.
“I get my flu shot every year,” Alicia announced like she deserved a cookie.
Wendy squeezed Arthur’s hand wanting him to join the conversation, but Arthur just looked ahead as he drove. “You hear anything else, Hun?” Wendy finally asked, so Arthur would talk and Alicia wouldn’t.
“Just what you and I’ve talked about,” Arthur answered curtly and Alicia filled them in on what she had heard. Not about the flu, but
